Encinitas commissioners recommend changes to surf school permit system

Encinitas should give its surfing school businesses multi-year permits to teach at the beaches and grant them a little flexibility on class size restrictions, the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission recommended Tuesday.

Both the new-to-surfing tourists who take these private, paid courses and Encinitas residents who are avid surfers benefit from having knowledgeable instructors teaching at the beach, commissioners said as they recommended changes to the city’s permit system. Among other things, these instructors teach proper wave use etiquette and help keep newcomers from making unsafe decisions, commissioners said.

In their 6-0 vote, with Chair Ross Ridder absent, the commissioners recommended that the City Council grant the current surf school permit holders a one-year renewal to get them through the summer 2026 season, and start pursuing a multi-year permitting system, as well as making a host of other changes.

“Three years (for a permit) seems reasonable as long as you’re in good standing,” said Commissioner Bridget Kimball, who served on a commission subcommittee that reviewed the permitting system.

Del Mar gives surf school operators three-year permits, with an option for two additional years if they’re in “good standing,” while Carlsbad has a three-year permit, Kimball said. The city of San Diego has a one-year permit, but that permit is routinely renewed and existing permit holders don’t have to fill out a full application every year, she added.

Encinitas, which typically has had a two-year permit system, began reviewing its permit regulations last year after the city was forced to eliminate some of the beach sites where it had previously allowed private instructors to teach. Those changes came after state officials, who were looking into landslide issues, reviewed area beach jurisdiction maps and determined that some spots Encinitas thought it controlled actually were under state jurisdiction. Because the city doesn’t control those areas, it could face a legal liability issue if it tried to issue use permits for them, city parks and lifeguarding officials have said.

There currently are nine surf school permit holders — each one allotted to a set spot on the beach. The surf schools pay the city $5 per student, per day, to use the beach. The city’s fee revenue ranges from $23,000 to $41,000 a year, and it’s set aside for beach-related projects, a city staff report states.

Maui Surf Academy owner Matthew Allen told the commissioners Tuesday that he liked the direction the commission was now heading with its proposed changes.

“We’re making a great step toward where we need to be,” he said, saying he wanted longer permit periods and less onerous application processes for established surfing school businesses.

Parks commissioners’ new recommendations included that the city:

• Make its current caps on surfing class sizes, which in some cases are no more than 12 students, be more flexible to make sure they are not preventing the surf schools from making a profit;
• Amend the city municipal codes to provide legal confirmation that instructors can hold lessons on the weekends in the summer, as long as they’re not doing so on holiday weekends. City parks officials said this isn’t clear in the current codes;
• Update city policies so that the permit holders know who to contact when they want to report an unauthorized person teaching paid classes at the beach without the required city permit;
• Revise the city permit application process, including making it possible for applicants to submit photographs and other items with their applications.

The commission’s proposed changes will go to the City Council for approval. They’re likely to appear on the council’s Oct. 22 meeting agenda, said Dave Knopp, the city’s parks, recreation and cultural arts director.